News

BBC Dark Comedy ‘Guilt’ Remade In Australia

Guilt, the dark BBC comedy out of Scotland starring Mark Bonnar and Jamie Sives, in being remade in Australia. Production has begun on an Aussie version, which has Nitv, Sbs, Screen Australia and Screenwest attached, with Kodie Bedford (Return to Paradise, Mystery Road) the writer and exec producer. . BBC Studios Productions Australia is making the show, known locally as Reckless, with Tasma Walton (The Twelve, Mystery Road) and Aacta Award winner Hunter Page-Lochard (The Newsreader, Critical Incident) playing the feuding siblings from the original. They are forced to work together when an accidental hit-and-run death spirals wildly out of control in their hometown, Fremantle. Also cast are Jessica De Gouw (The Couple Next Door), Clarence Ryan (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga), Jane Harber (Offspring), Tracy Mann (The Twelve), Duncan Fellows (Deadloch), Perry Mooney, Kelton Pell (Mystery Road: Origin), Matthew Dyktynski (Japanese Story...

‘Mad Men’ Star Christina Hendricks Heads To Series Mania

Mad Men star Christina Hendricks is heading to Series Mania. The six-time Emmy nominated actress will be promoting Chris O’Dowd’s Small Town, Big Story, in which she stars opposite Paddy Considine. Having just launched on Sky, the show about a Hollywood producer who returns to a small Northern Irish town will be given its international premiere at Series Mania. Hendricks is best known for playing Joan Holloway in Mad Men across seven seasons, for which she was six-time Emmy nominated. She led four seasons of NBC’s Good Girls and recent credits include Apple TV+’s The Buccaneers and Good American Family for Hulu. Series Mania kicks off later this month in Lille. Hendricks joins a buzzy line-up including Amanda Seyfried, Pamela Adlon and James Norton.

Banijay Arranges ‘Game Of Chairs’

Banijay Entertainment’s latest format is a shiny-floor twist...

Exclusive: Kylie Washington has just overseen the launch of three BBC television mega brands in Australia, and readily admits the pressure has been on. The BBC Studios Anz General Manager and Creative Director of Production knows new versions of Death in Paradise, The Office and Top Gear require full attention to succeed, especially with buyers hesitant to put their hands in their pockets and more willing than ever to pull the trigger on disappointments.

“From my personal BBC Studios perspective, we’re on a great run,” says the Sydney-based exec. “We have commissions across the majority of networks with a very broad mix of genres. You never know which runner will have its moment in the light, so it’s important to be the best at all of them, to play to your strengths.”

Return to Paradise, the Australia-set spin-off of British cozy crime drama Death in Paradise, certainly had a moment in the light,...

On October 18, Amazon Prime Video will launch a new version of “The Office” set in Australia. The popular mockumentary series was created in the UK by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and adapted for US audiences. This latest iteration will be available worldwide on Amazon’s streaming service.

The Australian adaptation takes place at Flinley Craddick, a packaging company in Sydney. Hannah Howard leads the workplace comedy as the boss. In previous versions of the show, characters like David Brent in the UK and Michael Scott in the US filled this role as inept managers trying to connect with their employees. Howard’s character promises to deliver the same awkward and entertaining moments fans have come to enjoy.

Supporting Howard is an ensemble cast portraying a range of familiar archetypes. Edith Poor plays Lizze, the receptionst who sees herself as a productivity expert. Steen Raskopoulos and Shari Sebbens portray Nick and Greta,...

The Office is back! Well, a version of it.

Amazon Prime Video has released the first trailer to the Australian adaptation of Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s enduring classic comedy series The Office, and we finally get a proper glimpse at the Aussie variants of Brent, Tim, Dawn, Gareth and more.

With NBC’s follow-up to the U.S. adaptation of The Office still in development, global fans of the franchise can sate themselves in the meantime with an Aussie attempt at the mockumentary-style comedy.

Just one (big) catch, though: The Office Australia will be available on Prime Video in 240 countries and territories worldwide from Oct. 18, except, that is, in the U.S. That’s nothing a Vpn can’t fix, however, if you’re really keen.

In the clip released Wednesday, we see Hannah Howard (Felicity Ward), the managing director of Sydney-based packaging company Flinley Craddick, trying and...

Paramount Australia and BBC Studios Production Australia are to produce a localized Australian version of British light drama format “Ghosts.” It will play on the Paramount-owned Network 10 linear channel and the Paramount+ streaming platform.

The eight-part family comedy series will be set in a haunted country house full of hilarious new ghosts who are as chaotic, unpredictable and messy as Australian history itself.

No cast or creative talent has been disclosed, nor a production schedule. However, the companies said that the completed show would air in 2025.

The original series “Ghosts” was produced by Monumental Television in association with Them There for BBC One. It was distributed by BBC Studios. The fifth and final series of the original U.K. version was the most-watched comedy in 2023, with the finale watched by over 6 million people in seven days.

The U.S. version is in production with its fourth season for CBS.

Prime Video has announced that the Australian Original The Office will premiere on October 18. The comedy series is the thirteenth version of the global hit juggernaut franchise and has the first-ever female lead in the iconic role, comedian and actor Felicity Ward who plays Hannah Howard, Managing Director of Flinley Craddick.

All eight episodes of The Office Australia will be available on October 18 exclusively on Prime Video in 240 countries and territories worldwide (excluding the U.S.) in the Prime membership.

Prime Video also released a first-look image from the series, which features an ensemble of Australian and New Zealand comedy talent. Starring alongside Felicity Ward is Edith Poor, Steen Raskopoulos, Shari Sebbens, and Josh Thomson.

Jonny Brugh, Susan Ling Young, Raj Labade (Appetite), Lucy Schmidt (The Pledge), Zoe Terakes, Pallavi Sharda (The Twelve), and Claude Jabbour round out the regular cast.

Susie Youssef, Justin Rosniiak, Carlo Ritchie (Mikki vs the World), Rick Donald,...

The Australian edition of “The Office” — the 13th global incarnation of the iconic comedy series — is taking shape, with Prime Video setting a release date and releasing a first-look at its lead, Felicity Ward.

The “Time Bandits” and “Wakefield” star will play Hannah Howard, managing director of packaging company Flinley Craddick and the first female lead of “The Office” franchise. All eight episodes will become available globally on Oct. 18 via Prime Video (excluding the U.S.).

Starring alongside Ward is an ensemble of Australian and New Zealand comedy talent. The cast includes Edith Poor (“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”), Steen Raskopoulos (“The Duchess”), Shari Sebbens (“The Sapphires”), Josh Thomson (“How to Please a Woman”), Jonny Brugh (“Thor: Love and Thunder”), Susan Ling Young (“Reckoning”, “Hungry Ghosts”), Raj Labade (“Appetite”), Lucy Schmidt (“The Pledge”), Zoe Terakes (“Talk to Me”), Pallavi Sharda (“The Twelve”) and Claude Jabbour (“Last King of the Cross”). Meanwhile,...

Toto, I don’t think we’re in Scranton anymore. The Office is officially going Down Under with a new Australian update on the hit comedy series.

Prime Video announced Monday that the Australian Original The Office will debut all eight episodes Oct. 18 on the streamer while revealing a first-look image at Felicity Ward as the franchise’s first-ever female lead, playing new boss Hannah Howard, managing director of Flinley Craddick packaging company.

When she gets news from Head Office that they will be shutting down her branch and making everyone work from home, Hannah goes into survival mode, making promises she can’t keep in order to keep her “work family” together. The staff of Flinley Craddick indulge her and must endure Hannah’s outlandish plots as they work toward the impossible targets that have been set for them.

The Office also stars Edith Poor,...

BBC Studios Productions Australia has acquired Melbourne, Australia-based Werner Film Productions, the production firm behind such drama series as The Newsreader, which airs on Australian broadcaster ABC and the BBC, and Netflix’s Surviving Summer.

Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but it is the latest takeover of a production company by BBC Studios. “The deal marks a significant investment by BBC Studios Productions Australia in the local production industry and provides Werner Film Productions with the backing of one of the world’s biggest global distributors as it continues to grow its production of drama series for Australian and global audiences,” the companies said.

Werner Film Productions will continue to be led by company director Joanna Werner and managing director Stuart Menzies and will operate alongside BBC Studios’ local production arm as an independent label, with both companies producing their own projects. “This model replicates the way that BBC Studios...

BBC Studios has acquired Werner Film Productions, the company behind Australian drama hit The Newsreader.

BBC Studios Productions Australia paid an undisclosed amount for Warner, marking the latest in several high-profile deals for the BBC’s commercial division. Last month, it paid £255M ($325M) for ITV’s share in their streamer, BritBox International.

The Werner deal is billed as “a significant investment” in Australia’s production ecosystem, and comes soon after BBC Studios CEO Tom Fussell confirmed the BBC company was raising its debt facility to £600M as it seeks to invest in new business and double its size by 2027/28.

Werner is best known making ABC drama series The Newsreader, which stars Anna Torv and Sam Reid as an embattled anchorwoman and an ambitious reporter who confront studio politics and their own issues during the 1980s, in association with eOne. The series has won multiple Logies and Aacta awards and season three is currently filming.

Eagle Pictures Seals Italy Distribution & Production Deal With Sony

Tarak Ben Ammar’s Italian distribution and production house Eagle Pictures has sealed a distribution and production deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment which will take effect from 2023. “The deal with Sony represents an important step in consolidating the company as one of the biggest players in the sector alongside Disney, Universal and Warner Bros Italia,” said Ben Ammar in a release. Eagle Pictures was Italy’s top-performing distributor in the second quarter of 2022, thanks in part to its long-standing relationship with Paramount which saw it handle the Italian release of Top Gun: Maverick. Under the deal, Eagle Pictures will handle the Italian release of Spe features and the partners will also produce five Italian and European films together, which will then be distributed internationally via Sony’s worldwide distribution network. Ben Ammar is already collaborating with Sony on two international productions,...

Lionsgate+ Strikes Sky Deal

Lionsgate+, the rebranded Starzplay streamer, has struck a deal with Sky to launch on Sky Glass in the UK today. Later this year, the Gaslit, Dangerous Liaisons and Outlander SVoD will roll out to Sky Glass Italy and Sky Q in Germany. The streamer rebranded from Starzplay outside the U.S. to Lionsgate+ last month, with a swanky talent-packed do in Central London unveiling the move. Customers in the UK, Ireland, Germany and Italy can subscribe for £5.99 (6.78) per month for the SVoD. “Partnering with Sky, Europe’s premium content provider, is a key strategy in strengthening Lionsgate+’s presence in Europe and will give even more subscribers access to our massive offering of curated content” said Superna Kalle, President, International Networks for Starz. “We look forward to strengthening our relationship with viewers through Sky who share our commitment to delivering audiences exceptional content paired with a premium user experience.

Screenworks, the national not-for-profit organisation that provides industry and talent development programs and networking for people living in regional Australia, has attracted some of the industry’s biggest names for its annual fundraiser.

Top Row: Amanda Duthie, Cate Shortland, Tony Ayres, Paul Weigard, Sophia Zachariou, Sally Caplan Middle Row: Que Minh Luu, Nathan Mayfiel, Sally Riley, Daina Reid, Joanna Werner, Alastair McKinnon Bottom Row: Nash Edgerton, Jodi Matterson, Kylie Washington, Vanessa Alexander, Lana Greenhalgh

Each year, Screenworks runs a series of raffles to raise funds that directly support its programs and initiatives that are delivered across the country. After successfully raffling a selection of 1-on-1 consultations with industry executives last year, the organisation is doing it again this year to support the career pathways of emerging practitioners across Australia.

Screenworks has secured a range of prominent professionals working in the Australian screen industry, including Clickbait and Fires co-creator Tony Ayres,...

Sally Hawkins Boards Stephen Frears’ ‘The Lost King’

Oscar-nominated The Shape of Water star Sally Hawkins has joined the cast of UK comedy-drama The Lost King, inspired by the remarkable 2012 true story of finding Brit monarch King Richard III’s remains under a Leicester car park. Steve Coogan has co-written the script with his Stan & Ollie and Philomena collaborator Jeff Pope. Philomena director and two-time Oscar nominee Stephen Frears is aboard to direct the Baby Cow-produced feature. Coogan will co-star in the film as the husband of Philippa Langley, the woman who undertook the search for King Richard’s remains. Hawkins is expected to play Langley. Her casting was revealed today in a press release announcing Sarah Monteith as Baby Cow’s new CEO.

Tan France Joins Edinburgh TV Festival Board

Tan France, the star of Netflix’s Queer Eye, is joining the Edinburgh TV Festival advisory board as international editor,...

Nine has announced that quiz program Weakest Link will return to Australia after nearly 20 years with comedian and actress Magda Szubanski as host.

This new series is being produced BBC Studios and will be shown on Nine and 9Now.

Szubanski said the show was right up her alley.

“I’ve pretended to be nice my whole career – now I finally get to play myself,” she said.

“No, I will not be making the contestants look stupid. They’re perfectly capable of doing that themselves. I love to watch people squirm, and not in a sexy way. I look forward to hosting some of Australia’s best and brightest… just not on this show.”

In each episode, eight contestants enter the studio as total strangers and must work together to bank the maximum amount of prizemoney available in each round. Contestants take turns to answer general knowledge questions and build chains of correct answers.

Dan Munday.

Matchbox Pictures and NBCUniversal International Studios today announced the appointment of Dan Munday as head of unscripted.

Munday has spent the last two and a half years as an Ep/development exec with NBC’s Universal Television Alternative Studio in Los Angeles, developing and producing unscripted content including The Awesome Show hosted by Chris Hardwick.

Starting in June, he will oversee the creation, development and management of all Matchbox Pictures’ unscripted projects as the company seeks to build its production footprint both locally and internationally

The unscripted team has been reporting to the MD since Kylie Washington departed a year ago to become director of production at BBC Studios Australia.

The Aussie-born exec spent 14 years with prolific producer Mark Burnett, involved in the development and production of numerous series including Survivor, The Apprentice, The Contender and Steve Harvey’s Funderdome.

Matchbox MD Alastair McKinnon said: “Dan is an...

Deb Tod.

Deb Tod has been officially appointed BBC Studios Anz’s head of content sales and co-production.

Tod has been acting in the role role since January, following the retirement of Irene Read, former director of content sales. Her appointment comes after a review of the scope of the role.

In her new role, Tod will be responsible for the strategic and team leadership of BBC Studios’ content sales and co-productions in Australia and New Zealand, working across both broadcast and digital. As part of the international sales team, she will have input into global deals, content partnerships and co-productions and will be a core member of the Anz regional executive leadership team.

Television format sales come under the director of production Kylie Washington, while the development of new customer relationships and business opportunities comes under COO Fiona Lang, who leads the newly formed business development team.

Tod will...

(L-r) BBC Studios Anz director of production Kylie Washington and Max Bourke. (Photo: Daniel Aulsebrook)

Max Bourke will undertake a six month placement with BBC Studios’ documentary department in the UK, thanks to a partnership between BBC Studios Australia, the Australian International Documentary Conference (Aidc) and Create Nsw.

Bourke is a writer, director and producer who has over 30 hours of Australian documentary credits, including Man Up, Go Back To Where You Came From Live and I Can Change Your Mind About Climate, and will receive $50,000 to support his placement in the UK.

Bourke was one of five shortlisted Nsw-based documentary makers, who each submitted one in-development documentary project with international appeal as part of their application. The judging process for the position took place at Aidc, with each of the shortlisted going before a panel of representatives from BBC Studios Australia, BBC Studios UK, Aidc and Create Nsw.

BBC...

Alastair McKinnon.

A generational change is sweeping through Matchbox Pictures as the NBCUniversal-owned production company develops a raft of projects with emerging writers and producers.

“Talent development has always been a priority for Matchbox,” says Alastair McKinnon, who started as MD last December after three years with the ABC, most recently as head of content investment and planning,

McKinnon signed on just as the company founded by Penny Chapman, Tony Ayres, Helen Bowden, Michael McMahon and Helen Panckhurst was celebrating its 10th anniversary. “That was the perfect time to reflect and think about what Matchbox has done incredibly successfully over that time as the leading drama production company in Australia,” he tells If in his first interview since taking charge.

“But the industry has transformed in that 10 years and is unrecognisable if you think about the sorts of shows, how they are financed and the distribution models of drama.

Clockwise from top left: ‘Stacey Dooley Investigates’, ‘Blue Planet II’, ‘Louis Theroux: Dark States – Heroin Town’, ‘Stargazing Live: Series 2’ (Photo: BBC Studios).

Create Nsw, BBC Studios Australia and the Australian International Documentary Conference (Aidc) have partnered to offer a mid-career documentary producer/director a six-month placement with the BBC Studios documentary team in the UK.

The initiative provides $50,000 to support a Nsw-based practitioner throughout their placement, where they will be placed within a doc team that suits their experience and area of interest.

Applicants must have at least two documentary broadcast credits (television broadcast or theatrical release) and submit at least one in-development documentary project with international appeal, to be further developed over the course of the placement.

The six shortlisted applicants will receive travel, accommodation and discounted entry to the Melbourne-based Aidc conference from March 3-6 next year, where the final recipient will be announced on the closing night.

The Real Housewives of Sydney.

Following the success of The Real Housewives of Melbourne, The Real Housewives of Sydney will begin filming in September and premiere on Foxtel.s Arena in 2017.

The Real Housewives of Sydney will feature seven new housewives:.

AthenaX Levendi, married to an Australian Greek jewellery designer who owns and runs Levendi Jewellers; ex-model turned real estate agent Krissy Marsh; mother of two (and wife of David) Lisa Oldfield; cosmetic nurse and beauty expert Matty Samaei; actress, model and singer Melissa Tkautz; party planner and former Miss Australia Nicole O.Neil; and entrepreneurial mum and social scene queen Victoria Rees. .

The ten-part, one-hour series is again produced by Matchbox Pictures in conjunction with Foxtel..

The Real Housewives of Melbourne, which has so far run for three seasons,.was produced by Euan Jones and executive produced by Kylie Washington and Lisa Potasz.

She Shoots launches in Nsw.

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Aftrs, Screen Nsw, Women Nsw and screen industry executives have launched a program to adress the gender imbalance in commercial unscripted television camera and sound departments.

She Shoots is an initiative of Aftrs, Screen Nsw, Women Nsw and Executive Women.s Television Group, a group of Nsw-based senior women from production companies and broadcasters, who have come together to tackle gender bias in the screen industry..

The most recent Australian Bureau of Statistics from 2011 reported that more than 90 per cent of all sound technicians, camera operators and directors of photography were male.

Matchbox director of unscripted content and founder of the Executive Women's Television Group, Kylie Washington, said:

.We have not identified a single female camera operator or sound recordist working in the reality and unscripted genres within Australian TV," she said..

"We want to support women coming into these roles and provide new opportunities in the industry.

Matchbox Pictures has quietly launched a production offshoot in Asia and is already working on several projects.

The operation is being run by Steven Gilfeather, executive producer, Matchbox Pictures Asia, who is based in the Singapore office of Matchbox.s parent NBCUniversal.

.The aim is to grow the business strategically to create new IP for international export,. Matchbox MD Chris Oliver-Taylor told If.

.We are being careful, working on several commissions while we work out the broader future, taking advantage of NBCUniversal.s resources..

Gilfeather reports to Matchbox's Melbourne-based director of unscripted content Kylie Washington and overall to Oliver-Taylor.

The Singapore production team is working with Christine Fellowes, MD Asia Pacific for Universal Networks International and Scott MacKenzie, VP channels.

Its first commissions are producing three bulletins per week for E! News Asia and, for the same broadcaster, a half-hour documentary on Filipino film and TV actor and musician Piolo Pascual,...

Matchbox Pictures, the prolific producer of Nowhere Boys, Devil.s Playground, The Slap, the movie Cut Snake, Real Housewives of Melbourne, Formal Wars and upcoming miniseries Deadline Gallipoli, is now fully owned by a Us studio.

NBCUniversal International Television Production, which bought a 60% stake in 2011, today announced a further investment which gives it 100% ownership.

Tony Ayres, Penny Chapman, Michael McMahon, Helen Bowden and Helen Panckhurst, who founded the firm in 2008, sold their shares to NBCUniversal.

.They pursued us, primarily due to the success of the partnership and they are keen to invest and further grow the company internationally, so owning the company fully makes sense to do that,. Matchbox managing director Chris Oliver-Taylor tells If. "There is more incentive for NBCU to drive the business further."

The company will continue to operate as a distinct entity led by Oliver-Taylor and creative heads Chapman and Ayres (scripted ) and Kylie Washington (unscripted).. McMahon becomes executive chairman.

After acquiring an equity stake in Australian producer Matchbox Pictures in 2011, NBCUniversal International Television Production has now taken full ownership of the company via an undisclosed investment. This adds to NBCU’s stable of overseas production labels that also includes Carnival Films (Downton Abbey, Dracula), reality producer Monkey Kingdom and factual shingle Chocolate Media, all in the UK; as well as Lark Productions in Canada. Matchbox launched in 2008 and develops and produces drama, comedy, documentary and young adult television, and feature films. Earlier this month, NBC greenlighted The Slap, an eight-episode mini based on Matchbox’s 2011 complex family drama series. Universal Television and Matchbox are producing with Matchbox co-founder Tony Ayres as exec producer. Other recent Matchbox credits include the dramedy Camp which aired on NBC this summer and Aacta winning action adventure series Nowhere Boys, which Ayres created. Ayres, with co-founder Penny Chapman, will lead the creative team at Matchbox on the scripted side,...

NBCUniversal International Television Production has taken full control of Australian production company Matchbox Pictures, producers of Hulu's critically-acclaimed drama The Straits and the BAFTA-winning The Slap, which NBC is adapting as a miniseries for the U.S.. NBCUniversal was already an equity partner in Matchbox, having taken a stake in the company back in 2011. The new ownership arrangement will not change management at Matchbox. Chris Oliver Taylor will stay on as managing director, company founders Penny Chapman and Tony Ayres will continue to run the company's scripted production business and Kylie Washington the unscripted. “Matchbox is one

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Matchbox Pictures has produced a reality show about a group of young, pampered and immature adults who are forced to live together in a house and fend for themselves on a basic weekly budget, for the Seven network.

Young, Lazy & Driving Us Crazy is based on the Sony format Young, Dumb and Living Off Mum (which screened on the UK's BBC 3, produced by Monkey Kingdom).

The 10 contestants were recruited from Nsw, Queensland and Victoria after an Australia--wide casting call. The show was shot in Bondi, hosted by Lawrence Mooney. The winner gets a $20,000 trust fund and the respect of his or her parents.

.We pitched it to Seven knowing that World's Strictest Parents had worked well for them, particularly co-viewing with parents and teens,. said co-executive producer Susie Jones, Matchbox Pictures factual entertainment development executive.

The co-executive producer was Emily Griggs (The Farmer Wants a Wife, When Love Comes to...